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A or MTD or WAT
Which Stock Would AI Choose? Agilent Technologies (A) vs. Mettler-Toledo (MTD) vs. Waters (WAT) Stock Comparison
Key Takeaways
- A, MTD, and WAT are leading players in the analytical instruments sector, benefiting from demand in life sciences and pharmaceuticals but pressured by recent market volatility.
- MTD has outperformed peers year-to-date with a decline of about 9%, compared to roughly 16% for A and 11% for WAT.
- Recent quarterly results show revenue growth across the board: A up 4.4% core, MTD up 8%, and WAT up 7%.
- Analyst price targets suggest upside: around 43% for A, 14% for MTD, and 25% for WAT.
- Valuations are comparable with trailing P/E ratios (price-to-earnings) of 25 for A, 30 for MTD, and 29 for WAT.
Introduction
Agilent Technologies (A), Mettler-Toledo International (MTD), and Waters Corporation (WAT) are prominent names in the laboratory analytical instruments sector, providing essential tools for pharmaceutical research, diagnostics, and industrial applications. This comparison analyzes their recent market performance, financial metrics, and sector dynamics amid fluctuating R&D spending and economic pressures. Investors focused on healthcare equipment and precise measurement technologies, as well as traders eyeing relative strength in a consolidating sector, will find insights into positioning and trade-offs.
A Overview and Recent Performance
Agilent Technologies (A) specializes in life sciences, diagnostics, and applied chemical markets, offering instruments like liquid chromatography systems and mass spectrometers. Shares have traded in a 52-week range of $104 to $160, with the stock down about 16% year-to-date and 15% over the past three months amid broader sector weakness. In recent weeks, sentiment has been influenced by Q1 fiscal 2026 results showing 4.4% core revenue growth to $1.8 billion, driven by pharma and diagnostics segments despite a minor weather impact, though EPS of $1.36 slightly missed expectations. Market positioning reflects caution on slowing demand growth, balanced by analyst optimism for recovery.
MTD Overview and Recent Performance
Mettler-Toledo International (MTD) dominates precision instruments, particularly lab balances and pipettes, with over 50% market share in weighing solutions for pharma and food industries. The stock's 52-week range spans $1,052 to $1,525, declining around 9% year-to-date and 9% in three months, outperforming peers relatively. Recent market activity features Q4 2025 sales up 8% to $1.13 billion and strong EPS beats, supporting resilience despite high valuations. Sentiment remains positive on consistent profitability, though scrutiny lingers on modest revenue projections amid economic headwinds.
WAT Overview and Recent Performance
Waters Corporation (WAT) leads in chromatography and mass spectrometry for drug development and materials science. Trading between $275 and $414 over 52 weeks, shares are down approximately 11% over the past year, with modest monthly gains amid anticipation for Q1 earnings. Recent performance reflects Q4 sales growth of 7% to $3.17 billion TTM, fueled by LC-MS demand, though stock pressure stems from sector cyclicality tied to biopharma spending. Analysts highlight potential upside as instruments stabilize.
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Head-to-Head Comparison
In business models, A offers broad diversification across life sciences and chemicals, while MTD focuses on weighing leadership and WAT on chromatography dominance, all exposed to pharma R&D cycles. Growth drivers include stabilizing instrument demand post-pandemic, but recent momentum favors MTD with the shallowest declines. Risk factors involve China exposure and biopharma funding sensitivity, with A showing higher volatility. Valuation sensitivity is elevated at 25-30x earnings across the trio, trading below historical averages. Market sentiment tilts toward MTD for earnings consistency versus peers' misses, positioning it for relative outperformance in a recovery.
Tickeron AI Verdict
Tickeron’s AI models currently lean toward MTD due to superior relative momentum, consistent earnings beats, and leading market share stability, offering higher probability of near-term upside compared to A’s demand slowdown signals and WAT’s biopharma reliance.
Disclaimer
The information on this webpage is provided for general informational and educational purposes only and is not intended as investment advice, a recommendation to purchase or sell any security, or an offer or solicitation related to investments. It does not consider your personal financial situation, goals, or risk profile, and all investing carries inherent risks, including the possibility of losing your entire investment. For more details, please review our full disclaimer. Disclaimers and Limitations
Long-Term Analysis
It is best to consider a long-term outlook for a ticker by using Fundamental Analysis (FA) ratings. The rating of 1 to 100, where 1 is best and 100 is worst, is divided into thirds. The first third (a green rating of 1-33) indicates that the ticker is undervalued; the second third (a grey number between 34 and 66) means that the ticker is valued fairly; and the last third (red number of 67 to 100) reflects that the ticker is undervalued. We use an FA Score to show how many ratings show the ticker to be undervalued (green) or overvalued (red).
A’s FA Score shows that 1 FA rating(s) are green whileMTD’s FA Score has 1 green FA rating(s), and WAT’s FA Score reflects 1 green FA rating(s).
- A’s FA Score: 1 green, 4 red.
- MTD’s FA Score: 1 green, 4 red.
- WAT’s FA Score: 1 green, 4 red.
Short-Term Analysis
It is best to consider a short-term outlook for a ticker by using Technical Analysis (TA) indicators. We use Odds of Success as the percentage of outcomes which confirm successful trade signals in the past.
If the Odds of Success (the likelihood of the continuation of a trend) for each indicator are greater than 50%, then the generated signal is confirmed. A green percentage from 90% to 51% indicates that the ticker is in a bullish trend. A red percentage from 90% - 51% indicates that the ticker is in a bearish trend. All grey percentages are below 50% and are considered not to confirm the trend signal.
A’s TA Score shows that 6 TA indicator(s) are bullish while MTD’s TA Score has 4 bullish TA indicator(s), and WAT’s TA Score reflects 4 bullish TA indicator(s).
- A’s TA Score: 6 bullish, 4 bearish.
- MTD’s TA Score: 4 bullish, 5 bearish.
- WAT’s TA Score: 4 bullish, 4 bearish.
Price Growth
A (@Medical Specialties) experienced а +7.04% price change this week, while MTD (@Medical Specialties) price change was +8.61% , and WAT (@Medical Specialties) price fluctuated +6.03% for the same time period.
The average weekly price growth across all stocks in the @Medical Specialties industry was +8.88%. For the same industry, the average monthly price growth was +11.83%, and the average quarterly price growth was +6.31%.
Reported Earning Dates
A is expected to report earnings on Aug 18, 2026.
MTD is expected to report earnings on Jul 23, 2026.
WAT is expected to report earnings on Aug 04, 2026.
Industries' Descriptions
@Medical Specialties (+8.88% weekly)Medical specialties are companies that make equipment used by the health care industry. Equipment manufactured and distributed by these companies include dialysis machines, blood analysis equipment, surgical equipment, dental instruments, and diagnostic tools, among other items. Large companies typically aim to produce and distribute high-quality products across a broad market spectrum. Smaller firms are more likely to specialize in a particular market segment. Due to the industry’s close association with medical treatments, they typically have low sensitivity to macroeconomic fluctuations. Within this industry, Abbott Laboratories, Medtronic Plc and Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. are some of the companies with multi-billion market capitalizations in the U.S. stock markets.
| A | MTD | WAT | |
| Capitalization | 38.4B | 25.5B | 36.8B |
| EBITDA | 1.96B | 1.25B | 991M |
| Gain YTD | 0.363 | -10.814 | -0.774 |
| P/E Ratio | 25.40 | 27.34 | 45.58 |
| Revenue | 7.23B | 4.09B | 3.77B |
| Total Cash | 1.81B | 60.6M | 462M |
| Total Debt | 3.36B | 2.23B | 5.57B |
A | MTD | WAT | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
OUTLOOK RATING 1..100 | 91 | 26 | 75 | |
VALUATION overvalued / fair valued / undervalued 1..100 | 6 Undervalued | 99 Overvalued | 73 Overvalued | |
PROFIT vs RISK RATING 1..100 | 96 | 100 | 81 | |
SMR RATING 1..100 | 44 | 2 | 85 | |
PRICE GROWTH RATING 1..100 | 46 | 55 | 47 | |
P/E GROWTH RATING 1..100 | 62 | 58 | 21 | |
SEASONALITY SCORE 1..100 | 50 | 50 | 50 |
Tickeron ratings are formulated such that a rating of 1 designates the most successful stocks in a given industry, while a rating of 100 points to the least successful stocks for that industry.
A's Valuation (6) in the Biotechnology industry is significantly better than the same rating for WAT (73) in the Medical Specialties industry, and is significantly better than the same rating for MTD (99) in the Medical Specialties industry. This means that A's stock grew significantly faster than WAT’s and significantly faster than MTD’s over the last 12 months.
WAT's Profit vs Risk Rating (81) in the Medical Specialties industry is in the same range as A (96) in the Biotechnology industry, and is in the same range as MTD (100) in the Medical Specialties industry. This means that WAT's stock grew similarly to A’s and similarly to MTD’s over the last 12 months.
MTD's SMR Rating (2) in the Medical Specialties industry is somewhat better than the same rating for A (44) in the Biotechnology industry, and is significantly better than the same rating for WAT (85) in the Medical Specialties industry. This means that MTD's stock grew somewhat faster than A’s and significantly faster than WAT’s over the last 12 months.
A's Price Growth Rating (46) in the Biotechnology industry is in the same range as WAT (47) in the Medical Specialties industry, and is in the same range as MTD (55) in the Medical Specialties industry. This means that A's stock grew similarly to WAT’s and similarly to MTD’s over the last 12 months.
WAT's P/E Growth Rating (21) in the Medical Specialties industry is somewhat better than the same rating for MTD (58) in the Medical Specialties industry, and is somewhat better than the same rating for A (62) in the Biotechnology industry. This means that WAT's stock grew somewhat faster than MTD’s and somewhat faster than A’s over the last 12 months.
| A | MTD | WAT | |
|---|---|---|---|
| RSI ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 78% | 2 days ago 81% | 2 days ago 72% |
| Stochastic ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 55% | 2 days ago 64% | 2 days ago 62% |
| Momentum ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 65% | 2 days ago 66% | 2 days ago 60% |
| MACD ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 61% | 2 days ago 63% | 2 days ago 69% |
| TrendWeek ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 63% | 2 days ago 61% | 2 days ago 65% |
| TrendMonth ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 57% | 2 days ago 59% | 2 days ago 61% |
| Advances ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 60% | 2 days ago 61% | 2 days ago 64% |
| Declines ODDS (%) | 10 days ago 62% | 10 days ago 65% | 9 days ago 64% |
| BollingerBands ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 64% | 2 days ago 73% | 2 days ago 72% |
| Aroon ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 67% | 2 days ago 61% | 2 days ago 54% |
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MTD and
Correlation & Price change
A.I.dvisor indicates that over the last year, MTD has been closely correlated with A. These tickers have moved in lockstep 71% of the time. This A.I.-generated data suggests there is a high statistical probability that if MTD jumps, then A could also see price increases.
| Ticker / NAME | Correlation To MTD | 1D Price Change % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MTD | 100% | +3.34% | ||
| A - MTD | 71% Closely correlated | +2.95% | ||
| TMO - MTD | 67% Closely correlated | +2.75% | ||
| BRKR - MTD | 67% Closely correlated | +4.19% | ||
| DHR - MTD | 64% Loosely correlated | +2.30% | ||
| AZTA - MTD | 61% Loosely correlated | +3.19% | ||
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WAT and
Correlation & Price change
A.I.dvisor indicates that over the last year, WAT has been closely correlated with A. These tickers have moved in lockstep 67% of the time. This A.I.-generated data suggests there is a high statistical probability that if WAT jumps, then A could also see price increases.
| Ticker / NAME | Correlation To WAT | 1D Price Change % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WAT | 100% | +2.09% | ||
| A - WAT | 67% Closely correlated | +2.95% | ||
| RVTY - WAT | 63% Loosely correlated | +7.48% | ||
| TMO - WAT | 59% Loosely correlated | +2.75% | ||
| BRKR - WAT | 58% Loosely correlated | +4.19% | ||
| RGEN - WAT | 56% Loosely correlated | +5.02% | ||
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